# Wanna talk "Celebrity Poker Showdown"? Yeah, me neither **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798 "2003-12-03T22:06:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/1 "2003-12-03T22:06:45Z")
Actually, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was afraid it would be nothing but celebrity schmoozing and bad poker but most of the people from round one seemed to have some idea what they were doing at a poker table. I thought it was pretty hilarious how two of the celebrities had to be introduced with credits. "Sex in the City’s Willie (whatever) and “CSI Miami’s (whatever her name was).” Some of the audience shout-outs were pretty funny, like when some rube yelled out “Man Without Fear” at Ben Affleck. I couldn’t believe David Schwimmer went for the flush draw both of the first two hands. I yelled at the screen the second time “stop betting the flush draw!” and so of course he hits the flush on the next card. And then his trip aces get busted by…a flush draw. The “Loser’s Lounge” I could live without and I wish the actual poker guy was doing more of the commentary without the “comedy” bits from the other host, but overall it wasn’t an unpleasant way to spend an hour. I suppose I’ll watch the rest of the series (beats watching the World Poker Tour repeats yet again, although I think they have a new one tonight, “The Ladies of Poker” or some such). ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/2 "2003-12-03T22:22:15Z")
Oops, nope, Ladies’ Night is [next week](http://www.worldpokertour.com/promotions/ladiesnight/index.phtml). ---
**Author:** ![JDeMobray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@JDeMobray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDeMobray)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/3 "2003-12-03T22:30:41Z")
I think the appeal of the show may increase for me when they have actors on that I actually like (or in the case of Affleck and Schwimer do not actively despise, at least). I’m looking forward to next week’s show with the cast of the West Wing. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/4 "2003-12-04T00:31:54Z")
I didn’t watch it last night. I guess I forgot. Man, if only they had advertised a little more to remind me… ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/5 "2003-12-04T00:33:21Z")
Trouble is, I don’t think any of these people are playing with their own money, and so it amounts to high stakes “funsies.” Do you REALLY think Emily Proctor would have gone all-in on a pair of treys if her own dough had been on the line? ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/6 "2003-12-04T00:43:21Z")
Ben played good poker as I suspected he would. I do wish they told you who was sitting at the big blind. They might as well cater to people who understand poker if they’re gonna do it. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/7 "2003-12-04T00:48:33Z")
Ben played good poker as I suspected he would. I do wish they told you who was sitting at the big blind. They might as well cater to people who understand poker if they’re gonna do it. I thought Schwimmer’s ego was gonna jump out of his skull and splat itlself on the felt when his trip aces lost to the flush draw. ---
**Author:** ![Spurious\_George](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Spurious\_George](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spurious_George)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/8 "2003-12-04T00:58:22Z")
Schwimmer made some terrible calls, and was the first one out rather deservedly. Yeah, it’s all fake money, meaning the gameplay isn’t quite right. Still, all the particpants are essentially donating their time and names to charitable causes, so it’s fun _and_ good for the soul. I noticed in the credits that _The West Wing_’s Joshua Malina is a producer, so the all WW cast next week is not so surprising. Great thread title, **Otto**. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/9 "2003-12-04T02:39:05Z")
Maybe it’s because I’m not a card-player, but I could not in my wildest dreams (and I have some pretty wild dreams) imagine a more boring show than watching people sit around and play cards. Strip poker, maybe, but not with _that_ crew. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/10 "2003-12-04T04:01:32Z")
I thought I’d be bored as hell, but it looked interesting, so I wound up watching it. And I was into it in like 5 minutes, yelling at the TV. I hope they keep the raucous audience, some of the comments were priceless. That said, I could do without the “funny guy” host doing his Cosell voice. I wanna watch the frickin’ poker game. And I think they were cutting some big chunks of game out, which I don’t mind, but I wish they’d say something like “So Affleck had a run of good games, which is why he’s $10,000 richer than he was a minute ago.” ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/11 "2003-12-04T04:03:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*Maybe it’s because I’m not a card-player, but I could not in my wildest dreams (and I have some pretty wild dreams) imagine a more boring show than watching people sit around and play cards. > > Strip poker, maybe, but not with _that_ crew. \*\* It’s because you don’t play poker. You can tell a lot about a person based on the way they play poker. When they sat down at the table I thought to myself, “Now I get to see who they REALLY are.” ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/12 "2003-12-04T06:40:00Z")
Awful. Firstly, the Celeb’s were playing with House/Bravo money. If you’ve no personal stake, Poker is Rummy. The opening scene in the (remake) _Ocean’s Eleven_ with the Celebs was what I expected. At least (in the movie) they were -playing themselves- betting -their- money. Of course they lost it to Brad & George. So yeah, the fact they weren’t playing with their money - or even amounts they’d consider ‘real money’ ruined it. The commentary stuffs reminded me I’ve avoided everything ‘reality TV’ since… I dunno - “Who wants to Win a Million Dollars”. An, besides, Affleck’s umm ‘buddy’ Matt Damon and Gabe Kaplan (Kotter) are supposed to be great at Poker. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/13 "2003-12-04T14:42:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Do you REALLY think Emily Proctor would have gone all-in on a pair of treys if her own dough had been on the line? Dunno. She did explain that decision though in the “Losers Lounge.” She said she hadn’t been getting good cards and she was short-stacked, and it was the first pair she’d seen in a while. > [@](#): > > And I think they were cutting some big chunks of game out, which I don’t mind, but I wish they’d say something like “So Affleck had a run of good games, which is why he’s $10,000 richer than he was a minute ago.” Yeah, but that happens with any televised poker that has a specific timeslot to fill. Tournaments can run to dozens or hundreds of hands and they can’t show all of them. Now if only they’d release the outtakes on DVD, then we’d really know how they play! (because we’ll all be sitting down at the table with these people any day now) > [@](#): > > An, besides, Affleck’s umm ‘buddy’ Matt Damon and Gabe Kaplan (Kotter) are supposed to be great at Poker. What does that have to do with anything? ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/14 "2003-12-04T15:10:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*Maybe it’s because I’m not a card-player, but I could not in my wildest dreams (and I have some pretty wild dreams) imagine a more boring show than watching people sit around and play cards. > > Strip poker, maybe, but not with _that_ crew. \*\* Agreed, **Eve**. They actually managed to make televised fishing seem exciting. (And I **do** play cards) ---
**Author:** ![Second\_Guest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@Second\_Guest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Second_Guest)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/15 "2003-12-04T19:04:32Z")
I missed a lot of the second half-hour as I was flipping back and forth between _Celebrity Poker Showdown_ and _The Simple Life_. Oh, my goodness… I think that might be the most depressing thing I’ve typed in a very long time. Forget I was here. I actually only watch PBS. Honestly. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/16 "2003-12-04T21:39:13Z")
I thought it was moderately interesting. I don’t know how to play poker, so I actually learned something about the game by watching the play. I liked how Willie Garrison kept going all in and then running to the corner to hide while the dealer miraculously managed to find him the perfect card. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![kka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@kka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kka)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/17 "2004-01-07T04:29:01Z")
Did anybody watch tonight’s episode? The guy from Creed is honestly, the **worst** poker player I have ever seen. It was like he was on drugs or something. ---
**Author:** ![HomerIU](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HomerIU](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HomerIU)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/18 "2004-01-07T04:55:31Z")
I watched the West Wing episode and thought this was the most utterly annoying show I have ever seen. I guess watching the World Series of Poker kind of ruined it because I couldn’t get over how incredibly STUPID these people were playing. The fact that its not their money just ruins it because they sure did not seem to be taking it seriously. If they had anything at all in their hand they would go all in, then lose quickly. Its like they were trying to lose quickly. Come on, you don’t go all in with a pair of THREES no matter what kind of bad hands you’ve been getting. I’d be pissed if I were one of the charities and the celebs offered up a horrible effort like that on my behalf. ---
**Author:** ![TERRA\_Rising](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TERRA\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TERRA_Rising)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/19 "2004-01-07T05:34:18Z")
Having played in a couple of tournaments myself, I can say that the whole series is not nearly as intense as it would be if they were using their own money! That said, I believe the best player thus far has to be the girl for “MAD TV” (Nicole Sullivan, I believe). She earned that whole game. Worse player: Allison Janney (going aggressive when you’re re-raised big is not a good thing most of the time!) ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798/20 "2004-01-07T15:21:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TERRA Rising \* > **That said, I believe the best player thus far has to be the girl for “MAD TV” (Nicole Sullivan, I believe). She earned that whole game.** Agreed – she totally played Peter Facinelli on the last hand, pretending to be all skittish and air-headed so he went all in, and then creaming him with excellent cards. Remind me never to buy a used car from her. –Cliffy [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanna-talk-celebrity-poker-showdown-yeah-me-neither/216798.md?page=2)